Tuesday, May 15, 2012

This sexist and homophobic insult "sucks"

Done yet? Good. Because I want to have a talk about the power symbolism of fellatio.

Kids, especially boys, learn early that "sucks" means "is bad". The term exists in the vernacular often with no sexual context, although obscene symbolism is often added for effect. (Like, "this coffee sucks donkey balls!")

I doubt we'll get rid of the term anytime soon, as we all find it so useful. But when a marketing stunt illustrates the idea, we can't turn away from the sexual power statement. The male power statement.

There's a reason the blowjob is the favoured attention received by male Presidents, rock stars and athletes from their groupies and subordinates. It can be an impersonal and one-sided affair.

At the same time, it is part of the loving physical vocabulary of many couples. But the intimate and reciprocated southern smooch is not what we're talking about here; it's all about dominance.

When one brand says "suck it" to another, it is saying "you're my bitch". Whether that implies a sexually submissive woman, or a man forced into a homosexual act, it is a statement of sexual domination.

Are we really okay with that? Do we really need to position a sexual act as a way to keep women down (literally) and to position male homosexuality as "feminine"?

Not only that, but think of it from a self-interest perspective. If the act is all about humiliating the giving party, can you really expect to receive it from anyone with self-respect?